This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Police bust nets $800K in pirated DVDs

Sellers of pirated DVDs were making thousands of dollars every weekend at a Mississauga flea market until they were shut down this past weekend, police said today.

By Bob MitchellStaff Reporter

Tues., Aug. 21, 2007

Sellers of pirated DVDs were making thousands of dollars every weekend at a Mississauga flea market until they were shut down this past weekend, police said today.

In some cases, customers placed orders for movies and television series from the bootleg entrepreneurs.

"We had a 21-year-old kid bragging that he was making $15,000 a weekend," Peel Det. Sgt. John Mans said. "He had the potential to make $60,000 a month and we think he was in business for six months so he could have made over $300,000.".

The young man was among the 18 people arrested on Sunday when Peel Police raided a dozen booths at flea markets on Mavis Rd. in Mississauga and on Dundas St. near Hwy 427 in Toronto.

Another eight people are being sought, police said

Article Continued Below

Altogether 22 different locations were entered with search warrants, including several homes and businesses in Peel, Toronto, Halton and York..

More than 40,000 bootleg DVDs worth a minimum $800,000 were seized under the six-month probe dubbed Project Hollywood.

Among the locations raided were homes in Scarborough and Markham from where police alleged the pirated DVDs were being distributed.

"One of the houses we entered had 7,000 movies alone," Mans said. "We also seized equipment that we've been told was capable of turning out $21 million a year in these illegal DVDs," Mans said.

Hundreds of the pirated DVDs that were seized were on display today at a news conference at Peel Police headquarters in Brampton.

Canada has become known as a worldwide source for the distribution of bootleg movies, police said.

Gary Osmond, director of investigations for anti-piracy operations at the Canadian Motion Picture Distributors Association, said today that movie piracy affects not only the major Hollywood studios but also a wide spectrum of artists, manufacturers, distributors, producers, retailers, theatre operators, employees, consumers, and governments.

"It is recognized as a serious and growing problem throughout the world," he said..

"It resembled the floor of the Toronto Stock Exchange with $20 bills in their hands in the air," Mans said. "It was like a feeding frenzy."

Movies still playing in theatres and not available in video stores were also sold, Mans said.

"Our undercover officers placed an order for 300 copies of Spider-Man 3 the day after it opened in theatres," Mans said.

Recently-released films such as The Simpsons Movie and The Bourne Ultimatum were also available on a made-to-order basis, Mans said.

"People from all walks were buying these movies when I was there," Mans said. "This old guy in a motor scooter wanted the Rome television series and was told he could pick it up in a week.

Investigators began targeting the sellers and their suppliers after receiving several tips from Peel Crime Stoppers in January and February.

"Initially, there were about four booths operating at the Mavis Rd. flea market but it grew to a dozen by the time we made the arrests," Mans said.

"There were booths with thousands of these DVDs on the walls while others were a little more clandestine with binders on tables that you could look through and then the DVD would be pulled from under a table."

Police said the pirate DVDs are usually secretly filmed by people with camcorders inside movie theatres. But it now appears that people in the motion picture industry are supplying master copies to the main suppliers of the illegal industry.

Police believe the DVDs likely changed hands several times before arriving at the vendors.

"They're being produced for 80 cents to $1 and then sold to another person for about $2 to $3 and the vendor sells them to customers for $4 to $5," Mans said.

"The investigation has revealed that this is demand-driven enterprise. Public awareness is key in recognizing that attending these open-air markets and purchasing these products constitutes a criminal offence. At the end of it all, people need to realize that their actions are nothing short of supporting organized crime."

Police said the investigation is ongoing and further arrests and charges are anticipated. Investigators will be liaising with additional investigative agencies, such as Revenue Canada and the Provincial Proceeds of Crime Unit.

Altogether, 17 adults and one youth have been charged with fraud and possession of property obtained by crime. They were released on their own recognizance and are to make their first court appearance on Sept. 20 in Brampton.

The Toronto Star and thestar.com, each property of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th Floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. You can unsubscribe at any time. Please contact us or see our privacy policy for more information.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com